Having formed 30-odd years ago, almost before "alt-country'' entered the critics' lexicon, the Minneapolis outfit shows there is still magic among its members, even if Gary Louris' co-founder, Mark Olson, is absent.

It was a mass featuring variations on black: from the themes and imagery of fire, war, an afterlife spent above, below or somewhere in between;to the clothes of both band and crowd; to the freight-train power of Black Sabbath, who tore a hole in the night and, via singer and protaganist Ozzy Osbourne, invited us to jump on in.

At times serene, at times stormy, Otago Harbour has long carried the hopes of many. In the final of a three-part series, Shane Gilchrist ponders a range of prevailing factors that could ripple into the future.